I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 39 - 33: Add Points! Add Points

[Gu Zheng]

[Realm: Alien Body · Mountain Shaker]

[Strength: 47/99]

[Agility: 46/99]

[Constitution: 46/99]

[Spirit: 41/99]

[Divine Wondrous: 11.5]

[Demon Points: 48]

[Demon Techniques: Super-speed Self-healing, Spirit Capturing, Dark Vision, Triple Jump, Fire Manipulation, 100% Absorption]

[True Skills: "All Heaven Jade Void Skill Alien Body Chapter" (Entry-level), "Eight Directions Travel" (Entry-level), "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique" (Entry-level)]

[Equipment Effects: Bronze Elephant Body (Inactive), Nether Heart Slave Seal]

...

Gu Zheng had been saving up his 48 Demon Points without using them. Now, he decided to try upgrading "Eight Directions Travel."

BZZZ!

His body shuddered and his vision blurred. It was as if his consciousness, along with his body, had been pulled into a sealed space to repeatedly practice the True Skill, "Eight Directions Travel."

Eight Directions Travel, traveling in eight directions. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

This Body Technique True Skill, as its name implied, allowed for unrestricted, rapid movement in all directions.

When paired with the "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique," it could create a killing field several zhang in radius around the user, a domain filled with crisscrossing Sword Gang that sliced and diced everything within.

Such was the power of a True Skill.

The martial arts Gu Zheng had learned before were only about training the body and mastering techniques. While reaching the pinnacle of skill was certainly powerful, that power couldn’t be projected outward. He had to get close to kill his enemies, and there were no other supplementary abilities.

Even if you mastered a Saber Technique to a sublime degree, it was useless if you couldn’t get close to your opponent.

True Skills were different. They could unleash terrifying destructive power from several zhang, a dozen zhang, or even dozens of zhang away.

How could the two even compare?

Of course, activating a True Skill required the consumption of Divine Wondrous.

Gu Zheng’s Divine Wondrous was born from forcefully allocating points into his Strength. It was the sublimated essence of his physical body, and thus, it was incomparably pure.

At this moment, as he spent points on "Eight Directions Travel," his Divine Wondrous began to circulate automatically, flowing through his limbs and meridians, concentrating particularly in his legs.

A Body Technique, after all, involved moving the body.

However, this physical phenomenon only lasted for a dozen or so breaths before it stopped and faded away.

Gu Zheng had only put 1 Demon Point into "Eight Directions Travel."

Once the energy from the Demon Point was depleted, the accelerated training for "Eight Directions Travel" naturally came to a halt.

Snapping out of his daze, Gu Zheng didn’t hesitate and decisively continued adding points.

’Two points this time!’

BZZZ~

His body trembled and his vision shifted. He once again entered that illusory space, his entire being undergoing a subtle, imperceptible transformation as "Eight Directions Travel" improved.

When the phenomenon stopped again, Gu Zheng came to his senses and glanced at the information for "Eight Directions Travel" on his panel.

["Eight Directions Travel" (Mastery)]

’Success!’

It only took 3 Demon Points to raise this Body Technique True Skill to the Mastery level.

As a side effect, his Agility stat had also changed.

[Agility: 46 (+1) / 99]

This was the bonus to his physical attributes from practicing a True Skill.

Gu Zheng was particularly satisfied.

"Mastery in ’Eight Directions Travel’... one condition for equipping the Evil God’s Relic Pearl is met."

"The second condition is 50 Spirit..."

’Might as well add the points directly!’

Gu Zheng decisively spent 18 Demon Points, increasing his Spirit to 50.

In that instant, his mind experienced a moment of clarity, and his five senses were enhanced once again.

By concentrating his mental energy, he could just barely lift a piece of underclothing and make it float in the air.

Haaa~

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Gu Zheng rested for a moment before taking out the Evil God’s Relic Pearl and mentally commanding it to equip.

BZZZ!

His vision suddenly went black and his consciousness sank into chaos. In the darkness, faint whispers arose, and a bewitching voice drew ever closer.

The next moment, however, these visions abruptly receded and vanished without a trace. The bewitching voice even let out a piercing shriek, filled with unwillingness and rage.

"HUFF... PUFF...!"

Gu Zheng’s eyes flew open. He gasped for air, shook his head, and after a long moment, his mind cleared. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

’I almost lost myself while equipping it this time.’

’The Evil God’s Relic Pearl...’

It was truly worthy of something once possessed by an evil Alien God.

Gu Zheng exhaled, calming his mind.

After a good while, he stood up and took two steps forward.

’Eight Directions Travel!’

SWOOSH~

His figure moved forward, leaving a shadow behind in his original spot.

At the same time, a stabbing pain shot through Gu Zheng’s brain. Before he could even process it, a second field of vision suddenly appeared.

The same room, two perspectives, two "Gu Zhengs"!

That’s right. When Gu Zheng turned to look, the shadow left in his original spot was identical to him, right down to the clothes he was wearing.

Its skin was also indistinguishable from that of a normal person.

"...What a Deceptive Appearance."

Gu Zheng rubbed his head as he and his double sized each other up.

He now understood the reason for the stabbing pain in his brain from a moment ago.

On his panel, the Spirit stat had changed.

[Spirit: 50 (-1) / 99]

It was equivalent to temporarily deducting 1 Spirit and transferring it to the shadow, granting it consciousness and a second field of vision.

Aside from being able to move freely just like Gu Zheng himself and providing a shared field of vision, this Deceptive Appearance shadow was otherwise illusory.

You couldn’t touch it if you reached out. Nor could you hit it by throwing stones or clubs.

It wouldn’t even cast its own reflection while standing under the sun.

As for Gu Zheng’s Martial Arts, Divine Wondrous, and Demon Techniques, the double possessed none of them.

In a way, it was just an illusory body created by an Illusion Technique, but it was far more advanced than any normal Illusion Technique.

Maintaining an illusion required consuming Divine Wondrous, and the illusion couldn’t stray far from the user’s body.

Gu Zheng’s shadow was different. It required no upkeep, and the shared vision would remain unaffected even if they were separated by hundreds of li.

’Infiltration, tracking, surveillance, deterrence... The Equipment Effect of this third item is obviously a much better match for the Nether Heart Slave Seal!’

Gu Zheng spent a good while adapting to and familiarizing himself with the ability before finally retracting the shadow.

The process was simple: it just had to return to the shadow cast by his own body.

This was also part of the equipment’s effect. As long as it wasn’t destroyed, the separated shadow could be used repeatedly, not just a single time.

...

Upgrading "Eight Directions Travel" was a success.

Naturally, "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique" was next.

Gu Zheng’s own proficiency in Saber Techniques was already very high. Although it was only in terms of pure skill, the fundamental nature of saber arts remained the same even when practicing a True Skill version.

The difference with a True Skill Saber Technique lay in how to control Divine Wondrous to bring out the strongest effect of the Extraordinary Power within his body.

On this point, Gu Zheng already had some experience.

To that end, he spent 2 Demon Points to raise "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique" to Mastery.

He then spent another 5 Demon Points, raising "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique" to Minor Achievement.

After spending another 10 Demon Points, "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique" broke through to Great Success.

By spending his remaining Demon Points, "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique" reached the threshold of perfection.

With that, his Demon Points were completely used up.

’To reach perfection in "Frenzy Battle Saber Technique," I’ll need at least 10 more Demon Points.’

’Time to head out.’

Inside the small house, Gu Zheng put on his Copper Star Armor. His Cloak settled over his shoulders as he opened the door and walked out.

"Ping’an, heading out to take a mission?"

As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into a round-faced, middle-aged man with an immaculately combed-back hairstyle.

Seeing Gu Zheng, the man smoothed his combed-back hair with both hands and greeted him with a broad smile. "Perfect timing! Yan Girl is recruiting people for a team to head out. Want to join?"